


Little Girl Lost: A Fractured Fairy Tale (the Red, White, and Black remix)

by Jain



Category: Firefly
Genre: Community: remix duello, F/M, First Time, POV Third Person, Past Tense, Remix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-10
Updated: 2010-10-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 13:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jain/pseuds/Jain





	Little Girl Lost: A Fractured Fairy Tale (the Red, White, and Black remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Falling](https://archiveofourown.org/works/58646) by [Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye). 



Snow fell in Serenity's cargo hold; River stood barefoot in the drifts and shivered. It was beautiful despite the cold, so she didn't seek shelter. Instead, she lifted her hands and watched the fluffy white flakes fall on her arms and upturned face.

"Simon!" the captain shouted.

Simon was too far away for her to hear the words of his reply, but his tone was cranky. That wasn't unusual; Simon alternated between being cranky and long-sufferingly patient. If he weren't a piece of River's heart, she might find him as annoying as the captain did. As it was, though, she couldn't mind.

"Fetch your gorram sister out of the hold! She's makin' the chickens nervous."

River blinked. There weren't any chi-- Oh. Not snow, after all.

She brushed feathers off of her arms and chest and stopped shivering.

Simon clattered down the stairs and wrapped an arm around her as though she really _were_ caught in a snowdrift and he was responsible for bringing her back to warmth and life. It was a motherly, solicitous gesture, and River smiled and laid her head against his shoulder as they walked up the stairs, following the winding path to home.

* * *

The blackness outside Serenity was heavy enough to anchor River to the controls. It was like being entombed in her bed, blinking into the darkness, with nothing left to her but sleep, only now all that was left to her was to chart a line to Whitefall. Simon had wanted to leave her a nightlight, but when she screamed, he took it away. The stars weren't the nightlights of the sky; they were too faint to cast a harsh glow on her surroundings, to pick out sharp edges of shadow and light that could cut through her.

River closed her eyes and was quiet, quiet and let Serenity hum to her with the voices of the dead.

* * *

When River returned to her birthday party wearing her favorite gift, there was an explosion of words, as red as the decorations that Inara and Kaylee had pinned to the walls and ceiling, as red as the dress that swirled around her legs.

"Jayne, I don't think that--" Simon said angrily, and, "Can't you keep out of trouble for--" Zoe said disgustedly, and, "Well, look at you," Jayne said in a pleased voice, and, "Oh," Kaylee said sounding surprised, and, "Jayne, perhaps you should have--" Inara said calmly.

"You can't tart her up like one of your two-platinum whores!" The captain's voice cut through the babble, and everyone fell silent and stared at him. "Not that I'm saying your sister looks like a whore," he said quickly in response to Simon's glare. "Not that there's anything wrong with whores," he added when Inara's glare became even more pointed.

"I'm not!" Jayne protested. "If I were dressin' her like a whore, I'd have got her something...you know..." He gestured towards his chest. "Lower. This's just a dress for a grown woman, which _she is_."

"'Younger than she are happy mothers made,'" River quoted in agreement.

Jayne's face twisted with confusion, but Simon smiled ruefully, and Inara smiled as well. "True enough, mei mei," she said. "But please don't follow their example. I don't think this ship is ready for another infant."

"' _Another,_ '" Mal began, only to cut himself off. "Never mind. I don't wanna know which of us you consider babies. Just, none of you get pregnant, and we'll all be happier."

"I think you look real pretty," Kaylee said, now that everyone was nice and peaceable again, and kissed River on the cheek.

Then there was cake that Inara had made, and everyone had a piece except Jayne who had two.

River followed him to the stairs afterwards. "Thank you for the dress," she said. "It's very warm."

Jayne blinked at her. "Are you sure about that? Because there's those little strappy bits in the back and on your shoulders, right, and the fabric ain't heavy."

River shook her head. "It's warm inside." She felt as though she were glowing, as though she were burning inside without being burnt.

"Oh. Well, okay. 'm glad you like it."

She placed a hand on his arm soft, soft--no need for broken bones now--and went to her toes to kiss him on the mouth. She was burning inside, and Jayne's lips were hot and red with the blood that flowed inside of him, as soft as flowers against her mouth.

Jayne stared at her with wide eyes when she pulled away. "Thank you," she explained, and he smiled slowly, shyly.

"Just you wearin' that dress is thanks enough. You look mighty fine, River."

There was another kiss on her mouth waiting for him, but River held it close. It wasn't time yet for it to unfurl, but soon, soon.


End file.
